A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has had reviewed, posted and PMd. I am very glad so many of you have enjoyed the sequel to The Journey of 1000 Miles. I am proud that this story was nominated as a WIP for the 2007 Fanfic awards. I appreciate that so many of you hung in there with me this summer and my horribly inconsistent posting.

My next story is GSR, M rated, AU and titled, "A Prelude to Their Opus." It is a not a sequel to this and I probably won't begin posting it for a couple of weeks. Because of subject matter, I may not be able to post all of it here, it may need to be moved to AFF and/or the LJ community csifiction.

So, my sincere thanks once again.

Is it Thursday yet?

Chapter 18

"All good things…" mused Gil to himself when he awoke early on the day they were driving back to Vegas. He silently slid from the warm bed and padded softly to the bathroom.

He carefully trimmed his beard and performed his 'morning' routine. The time spent in San Francisco had probably held the most life-altering moments for him since his childhood.

The look on Tommy's face when he had seen the studio apartment had been worth the trouble of picking paint from his beard in the days following their renovation work. Tommy had hugged them all and had wiped several tears from his face. He had embraced Gina for so long that Patrick had finally said, "Brother, that is my woman you're groping."

Gina's response, "Most of the time I like him better than I like you," was muffled by Tommy's shoulder. She patted Tommy's shoulder and he reluctantly released her.

"I'm not too worried," said Patrick. "What woman has use for a 67-year-virgin?"

The tables were smoothly turned when Tommy replied, "Well, at least you got my age right…"

It had been a long time since Gil had been around a family. It had been too easy to let his colleagues become a family of sorts and he found himself thinking how much he would miss having contact with people outside of work. There were carefully defined parameters of behavior with Nick, Warrick and even Greg, who pushed the envelope. Brass and Catherine were friends, but so much of the time they spent together outside of work was spent talking about work.

Sara and he had had a couple more meals with Edward and Myra Sayers and all four of them had even done the ultimate tourist activity and gone to Alcatraz together. Edward spent a lot of energy trying to convince Gil to get back into teaching.

"You were an amazing teacher," he said. "I know the pay isn't as good, but think of the rewards you get in return. Instead of seeing people on the worst day of their lives, you have the opportunity to teach some of the finest minds of this generation."

It was one of the many thoughts rolling around in his mind right now. He realized, because of Sara, he now had opportunities and options that he had never bother to explore before now. He went into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He gently shook Sara's shoulder.

"Honey? It's time to wake up, now." We have to be at the restaurant ay 900 AM to pick up Myra's care package for us," he said softly.

Sara gave an exaggerated groan. "I told her she didn't have to do that, we really were capable of getting food on the road," she said. She rolled onto her back and reached for his hand. "This has been an amazing trip. Part of me doesn't want to leave."

"I know just how you feel," said Gil.

Nonetheless, a few hours later San Francisco was miles behind them. They both had been very quiet for this first leg of the trip, but it was comfortable. Oldies music played on the radio and at different times they snag along to favorite lyrics. Neither of them could hold a tune well, but some things were easy to overlook.

For no apparent reason, Gil reached over and turned off the radio. "Sara, there is something important I need to ask you," he said.

"Okay," she replied cautiously.

"I was wondering how attached to Las Vegas you were," he said. While it may have sounded like a statement, there was a question in there.

Sara was startled, but answered without hesitation. "Vegas has been my home of choice, only because you were there. I think this trip has just reinforced that idea."

"But you're not ready to live together?" Gil asked, recalling one of their conversations from earlier in the week.

"I don't want you to think I'm rejecting you," she said. Her voice wavered and he glanced over to see tears forming in her eyes. "I have waited so long for you, maybe my whole life. I want to take this slow. I want to see how we balance our professional and personal relationship. I just think it will be better if in the beginning, we have our own corners to escape to at times."

"You're probably right," said Gil. "I just feel like I have wasted enough of our time." He was disappointed, but knew that she was the voice of reason.

"So, why are you asking me about Vegas?" she queried.

He took her hand in his. "When you are ready to live together, I wouldn't mind living in San Francisco," he said.

Her smile gave him a warm feeling. "Neither would I, she said as she squeezed his hand.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

They stopped at "their" rest stop. Sara knew they would. Grissom was practically humming as they went into their separate bathrooms. When she left the ladies' room, she could see him at the far end of the parking lot. He appeared to be looking for something. As Sara started to walk over to him, she saw him enter the woods. A couple of minutes later she located a path and began to walk through the small cluster of trees.

When she found him, he was in front of a tree carving something. He must have had the knife in his pocket since they last stopped for gas. When he finished at stepped away from his handiwork, Sara uttered a mock gasp. "Gil, for Pete's sake, I'm a member of Greenpeace," she said.

"And I promise, every year for the rest of our lives we will plant two tress on Arbor Day," he said soothingly. "I don't know what came over me." His voice changed and he thumped his chest twice, "Mogh. Mark Territory."

She looked at the neatly carved letters. GG + SS

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know all my life, I have moved from one goal to the next goal immediately after achieving the results I wanted. I think I have finally realized it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey. And if that journey takes a little bit longer...than I would like, then so be it," he said.

It was a poignant moment and Sara felt he throat begin to hurt and she brushed her hand over her eyes. He took her hand and they walked out of the grove of trees together. As she was climbing into the car she said, "Do you even know when Arbor Day is?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Arbor Day is not celebrated on the same day in all 50 states. Additionally, in Nevada, the Southern part of the state celebrates on February 28; the Northern part on April 23. The First Arbor day took place in 1872….."

"Oh, my God, what was I thinking," interrupted Sara. "Seriously, you need to apply to be on Jeopardy or something."

All too soon, the lights of Vegas were visible. He would be leaving her at her apartment soon. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't an ending, but the start of something new. She knew she was afraid of what the next night would bring. Would he be emotionally distant Grissom again? What if this was all the time they really had?

Logically, she knew he couldn't read her mind. But he cleared his throat a couple of times. "Why was he so nervous?" she wondered.

"Sara, there is something I've done and I have been debating on how to tell you. Since it involves you, I think you should have a say in what happens," he said.

Her heart dropped with a thud. She wasn't sure when it became difficult to breathe. "What have you done?" she asked with a calmness she didn't feel.

"Tomorrow morning I…or we, if you want, have an appointment with the Sheriff," he said.

"I don't understand what this has to do with me," she replied.

"I am too old to spend my life sneaking around and hiding who I am from the world. Tomorrow I am going to tell the Sheriff that I am in a relationship with you. I am going to tell him that it is not an option for either of us to change shifts, but we need to know what protocols he would like to put in place," he said. "I am sure he will prefer that we keep it to ourselves and not advise the rest of the team and knowing how little regard he has for Ecklie, the information will probably go no further than his office and a few carefully worded documents.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" she asked. "What if he won't accept your terms?"

"Oh, I am sure he won't call my bluff when I tell him we have just spent ten days in San Francisco and the lab there is prepared to double our salaries and our benefits," he said grimly.

"But we never talked to anybody about getting a job…." she trailed off when it dawned on her. "Oh….where did this devious side come from?"

"Madame," he said solemnly. "I am nothing if not a complete package."

Epilogue…….May 2007

No. No. NO!

Not Sara.

This crazy woman has kidnapped Sara.

Please, God, no.

I need to wake up; if I wake up this will all go away.

She is moving into my place next week.

We're shopping for wallpaper tomorrow.

We have a life together. We have a dog together.

What do I tell Patrick and Tommy?

She is accepted into the PhD program at Berkeley for Fall 2008.

I am going to teach four classes.

No. This can't be happening.

He took a deep breath and yet his lungs still felt like they were on fire.

"Jim, I need to talk to her," he said.